Samsung Galaxy S2 I9100: review, description, specifications and owner reviews. Samsung Galaxy S2 - Specifications What is the diagonal of the Samsung Galaxy S 2

Contents of delivery:

• Telephone
• Battery Li-Ion 1650 mAh
• Wired stereo headset
• USB cable
• Charger

Attention. Unlike the preview, here you are reading the review of the final sample, as a result, you can evaluate all aspects of the phone without any discounts. Some parts are repeated with the first material, some are greatly supplemented and expanded. Here is the final review.

Positioning

The success of the Galaxy S was unpredictable, and for such a product, it achieved phenomenal sales. The model is an undisputed bestseller, it set the bar for the Android phone market, but it also caused problems within Samsung. No one expected a resounding success, as a result, no one could predict that the demand for phones would skyrocket. The company was let down by the lack of SuperAMOLED screens, their shortage did not allow for large sales, the demand for the model is high, but it is not available in many markets in sufficient quantities. As part of the move, Samsung has launched a cheaper variant of the Galaxy S, the i9003, which uses a SuperClear TFT display. It loses SuperAMOLED in all respects, but it remains one of the best screens on the market. At the same time, the cost of i9003 with a minimum amount of memory is 100-120 euros less than the original Galaxy S, the difference in price will increase even more over time. It's not a bad deal and will exploit the popularity of the original Galaxy S.

After the announcements at CES, when NVIDIA showed the first solutions based on Tegra2, in particular, LG Optimus 2x, Motorola Atrix 4G, Motorola DROID Bionic, a natural question arose: how can Samsung respond to these devices? It seemed that dual-core processors are becoming a necessity in flagship solutions, a good marketing ploy, even if there is no practical need for them yet, since there is no corresponding software, games, and the speed increase in ordinary applications is not so great. But at CES, Samsung didn't say a single word about such plans. The reason is that the company wanted to close the gap between the announcement of the product and its appearance on the market as much as possible. So that potential buyers can get this solution at the same time as competitors.

Does Samsung count on the success of its updated flagship? Definitely yes, and there are simply no prerequisites to believe that he will not be successful. Based on the sales of the previous device, this model will make a market for itself. She has several unique features that are not yet available from competitors. The first is the technology race in the field of screens. The new term is SuperAMOLED +, an improved version of the previous display, which has not had time to become obsolete, and competitors simply do not have an analogue. Why such a technology race is needed, I don’t know, but the screen becomes a visible advantage of Samsung’s flagships. One of the strengths. I like the Galaxy S for the quality of the screen, but it's not as sharp as the iPhone 4, it's not as sharp, the fonts are a bit washed out. In the new version of SuperAmoled +, the sharpness was increased, not yet the iPhone, but not the Galaxy S either.

The second feature is not yet applicable in practice in most situations, but it gives a huge reserve for the future, this is a dual-core processor. For fans of technology, such a processor has an undoubted advantage, its presence adds extra shine to the phone. But for practical people this is not the case. The presence of such a processor has no undoubted and quick benefits. Another thing is that over time, more and more programs will appear for such solutions, and then this phone will show its capabilities.

In terms of technology, the first Galaxy S set the bar very high, it was not a demonstration of technology for its own sake, but a demonstration of how to tie all the latest technologies into one compelling product. The S II went even further, this is the first phone that supports Wi-Fi Direct, does not need special software to work with any computer and synchronize data, the phone can send files via Wi-Fi, has a number of additional programs that are not familiar to other Android phones, but which will soon become standard. I can list the technologies used for quite a long time (NFC, MHL, and so on), there are an impressive number of them here. Without any discounts, Samsung created the flagship and did it without exchanging for trifles. Unfortunately, there is not a single device on the market that is similar in terms of characteristics and combined capabilities. Devices based on NVIDIA Tegra 2 came close to the Galaxy S II, but as a rule, they have a much worse camera, a larger size, and noticeably worse displays. Surprisingly, Samsung has created a flagship with an excellent price / quality ratio for its segment. A year will pass, and functionally the device will remain at the level of the best solutions, it will not be overshadowed by other models, although more interesting solutions from different companies will appear. This product is positioned as a long-term flagship, that is, a model that is bought in order not to change the phone for a long time. The life span of this device for most markets and consumers will be maximum.

It is also worth noting the HTC Sensation model, which is technically very similar to the Galaxy II (dual-core processor, 1.2 GHz frequency, but the camera is worse, the built-in memory is smaller, the screen is simpler). This model wins with the presence of the Sense 3.0 shell, but at a similar cost, Samsung has a technological advantage. In any case, both models look extremely attractive, and the choice between them will be quite difficult.

The positioning of the phone as a flagship determines the portrait of its consumer, these are primarily those who buy the latest and best solutions. Of course, this device also applies to them. The second and notable category is technology enthusiasts (geeks). Those who care about how powerful their phone is. For them, this model offers a win-win option, because other phones simply have nothing comparable in terms of technology. For practical buyers, this is an interesting model, since for a long time it will be possible to be sure that it remains relevant and does not require replacement.

Design, dimensions, controls

Here I had to hear a lot of different opinions. Someone judged by the picture and said that the model looks exactly the same as the previous device, someone from the owners of the previous Galaxy complained that the device became wider, and this is not very convenient. Someone was just waiting for a different look. Samsung felt that the design of the first Galaxy S was successful, and sales confirm this. And we decided not to change anything. To some extent, this approach makes sense.

At the same time, due to the fact that the area of ​​​​the apparatus has become larger, it has been made thinner. Impressive 8.5 mm (in the press release they say even 8.49 mm, but we will not calculate with such accuracy?), make this device one of the thinnest on the market. Sony Ericsson Arc immediately comes to mind, it has a thickness of 8.7 mm, which also looks thin, due to this the device is perceived in a completely different way, it makes an impression. A forgotten trend that was in phones 4 years ago has revived again for the smartphone segment. Remember Samsung's Ultra series, and before that there was a device with a case thickness of 9 mm, and this was perceived as a breakthrough. Everything new is well forgotten old.

Comparison with Sony Ericsson Arc:

By the way, Samsung Galaxy S II somehow reminded me of Sony Ericsson Arc and in terms of proportions, it is possible that the size and screen diagonal leave an imprint, it is similar in both models. In Arc 4.2 inches, while in Samsung 4.27, the difference is not deafening. But the screen in Samsung is orders of magnitude better and more interesting. The Galaxy S II uses DNIe + technology (that's where the plus sign in the screen name comes from). This is a processor that processes any graphics, such as photos, pictures, videos, and makes it better for viewing on the phone screen. A similar technology is used in all TVs from Samsung. Curiously, something similar under the name BraviaEngine is used in Sony Ericsson Arc. These technologies are not used in the interface, that is, they are not responsible for drawing the menu.

The size of the phone is 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.5 mm (Galaxy S has 122.4x64.2x9.9 mm), weight is 116 grams. For my taste, the device is a bit too wide, to some this will seem like a disadvantage. But you adapt to it quickly, there is no discomfort. It's nice that the device is invisible in your pocket, it also looks good in a shirt.

Comparison with Samsung Galaxy S:

The answer, why the back cover is made of plastic and not metal, you find pretty quickly. With active use of the phone, when you watch videos, download large files, transfer them, it starts to get very hot. If the back cover were metal, then it would be impossible to touch the device, it would burn. The cellular structure of plastic was invented for a reason, it is a kind of passive radiator. But even with it, the phone sometimes warms up, does not burn, but you feel the heat. The warmest areas around the camera.

The lid is very thin and when you snap it on you have to run your finger around the perimeter to make sure it fits snugly. Sometimes you close the lid not completely, and this creates certain inconveniences. When dropped, the cover flies off, it is knocked out by the battery. My phone flew several times, but the cover did not receive any damage. Despite the thinness of the plastic, it is resistant to both shock and bending.

The phone has a 2-megapixel front camera, a proximity sensor, as well as ambient light. The central key is mechanical, but the menu and back buttons are touch-sensitive. On the left side there is a paired volume control button, on the right side there is an on/off button. It was not possible to find the camera key, as before it is not there, and the camera will have to be called from the menu.

At the top end there is a 3.5 mm headphone jack, the microUSB connector has been moved down. An 8-megapixel camera lens is visible on the back surface, plus an LED flash, and a speaker is located at the bottom.

For a few weeks, my main phone was the Galaxy II, so it went through fire, water, and also copper pipes. The case does not wear out anywhere, with the exception of the rear protrusion, a slight abrasion appears here, over time it will intensify. It is visible well only in the light and at the right angle. The second point is the back cover. In my pocket, it rubbed against the lining, unevenly, separate worn areas appeared. But I’ll say again, they are visible with a very careful study of the phone, in fact it’s hard to find them. In total, everything is expected, the plastic case has both its advantages (weight, practicality) and disadvantages.

I confess honestly that I do not share the opinion of many people that the phone case must be metal, especially if it is a flagship model. It can be made of plastic, glass or other materials. The question is how the material behaves over time, ages or not, wipes off or not. For example, the glass used in the Apple iPhone 4 is relatively fragile, dropping the device on the pavement can break it. Does this stop someone from buying a device? I think no. This is one of its features. The model turned out to be very small in weight, but at the same time wide, and this is captivating. Constantly using HTC Incredible S and Galaxy II, I caught myself thinking that Galaxy is more convenient for me. The reason is the weight and thickness of the case.

Display

Those who claim that SuperAMOLED Plus is just a marketing ploy should take a look at how different the picture on it is compared to regular SuperAMOLED. It is brighter, sharper with an increased screen diagonal, but the main thing is that the screen consumes less energy. An option to save energy has appeared in the settings, when power consumption is adjusted depending on the picture that is currently displayed (using DNIe +). This technology is also used in all Samsung TVs, a special processor analyzes the information and then improves the picture, making it more beautiful for us. The side effect is that the phone can now analyze how energy is being spent. Wallpaper selection also takes into account the fact that AMOLED screens use energy differently depending on the color. A similar technology is used by Sony Ericsson, it is called the Bravia Engine, but the gain on TFT screens is not so noticeable, rather, the technology is there only to visually improve the displayed image.

Let's get back to screen technology. The first SuperAMOLED matrices use PenTile technology, when one dot on the screen is formed from two subpixels. Surprisingly, this caused quite a heated discussion in many forums, in which it was claimed that the effective resolution of any screen with PenTile technology is at least a third lower than stated. A rather bold and stupid statement, since the number of dots was no different from any screen, and if the manufacturer spoke about a matrix of 800x480 pixels, then there were just such a number of them on the screen. No more, no less.

Another thing is that in some aspects, fewer subpixels gave visible distortion on the screen, which, coupled with high definition, annoyed some users. For example, for the first generation SuperAMOLED, the fonts had a sharp outline with a ladder, in fact, this is the only visible difference from most screens, which results from the use of PenTile technology. Just look at the icon labels on the main screen and see this effect on the same Galaxy S. Comparison with the second Galaxy will show that there is nothing like it.

The explanation lies in the Real RGB Stripe technology, which was used in SuperAMOLED Plus matrices. Now a single point on the screen is formed not by two, but by three sub-points. The picture from Samsung Displays shows the difference, the increased number of subdots makes the picture smoother, the fonts included, there are no sharply defined contours that could be annoying. I honestly admit that until I started discussing this topic, procrastinating it, I didn’t even pay attention to fonts. But then, of course, I saw this sharpness, although this had no effect on my perception of the previous Galaxy.

In the sun, the screen behaves worse than in the first Galaxy, the explanation is that the size of the matrix has increased, but the resolution has remained the same, plus the technology has changed. The picture is readable at a right angle or in a not very bright sun. But otherwise, everything is exactly the same as on other types of screens, there is no advantage that was in the first SuperAMOLED.

At the moment, SuperAMOLED Plus technology does not allow you to create screens with a dot density of more than 200 ppi, the iPhone has a matrix with more than 300 ppi. Samsung will change the manufacturing technology of matrices in order to get more than 300 ppi already in 2011.

For my taste, the picture on the SuperAMOLED Plus looks smoother, the brightness control is well chosen. But the main point is related to the fact that the user can choose the saturation of the picture (Movie, Standard, Dynamic). In fact, this is a setting that allows you to set the color temperature of the screen, change the color saturation. Someone likes bright colors - leave the standard option. Someone likes not so bright colors - choose the Movie mode.

The screen diagonal is 4.3 inches (in the previous model it was 4 inches, but the difference is huge, striking), the resolution is 800x480 pixels (displays 16 million colors). In practical terms, the display is extremely convenient, there is an automatic adjustment of the brightness of the image depending on the lighting. The protective glass is tempered, covered with a special anti-reflective material. Also, the screen has an oleophobic coating, which in theory means that it does not get dirty with your hands. A similar coating is used in the Apple iPhone. Users of this device know that prints still remain, they are just slightly smaller. Exactly the same story here. There are greasy traces, but they are not so conspicuous.

Samsung devices also use VibeZ technology - when you press the keys, the body vibrates, which confirms your action.

Up to 16 lines of text and up to three service lines fit on the screen. In message reading mode, this can be up to 24 lines, depending on the chosen font. For the screen in the settings, you can choose the size and font style, but they do not differ much. Another thing is that, unlike many models, the on-screen font is huge here, it is easy to read from any distance. This is a plus of the device.

Screen comparison with Galaxy S (maximum brightness, same pictures).

Screen comparison with Sony Ericsson Arc (maximum brightness, same pictures).

Battery

The phone uses a lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 1650 mAh. According to the manufacturer, the battery can provide up to 6.5 hours of talk time, up to 350 hours of standby time. In the conditions of Moscow networks, the device works on average for about one day. The time to fully charge the battery is about 3 hours.

Playing unconverted video is possible for about 8.5 hours. Music playback - up to 30 hours.

Perhaps checking the operating time of the device was the most difficult and voluminous test for me. The number of settings related to energy consumption is huge, and you can customize the phone for yourself, and besides, save time. For each person, this device will be able to show its results, it is very individual and depends on hundreds of settings (screen brightness, number of programs in memory, and so on). Therefore, I decided to conduct comparative tests with the first Galaxy. SIM cards of the same operator were installed on two phones, PUSH mail was configured, the same applications, programs, and so on were also used. In fact, I even tried to call from the same places and talk for the same amount of time. The result turned out to be rather unusual - the Galaxy II's operating time increased from 1.5 to 2 times. In my case, the first Galaxy, starting to work at 9 in the morning, was already completely discharged by lunchtime (yes, I'm not a very ordinary user, for many it works longer), but the Galaxy II worked for a long time.

I will briefly talk about the settings that are present in the phone and can do a good job in saving energy. First, you should go to the Wi-Fi section and in the advanced settings set up a connection only when the screen is active. This will save some energy, especially if you don't use any IM and want to see information the moment you pick up your phone. Secondly, it is worth considering whether you need PUSH in the mail, if you receive a dozen letters per hour, this function greatly affects the time of work. You can set the interval to 15, 30 minutes or even an hour. This gives a noticeable increase in operating time.

In the screen settings, I recommend setting automatic brightness control, but also adding an analysis of the picture on the screen (a separate item, not available for all competing products). This item allows the phone to choose the brightness depending on the applications used, everything works quite well. Regardless of whether this item is selected or not, the phone has a temperature sensor. If you are in the sun and at the same time playing some kind of toy, downloading a large file at the same time, the screen brightness will automatically decrease so that the device does not overheat. So far, I have not come across such functionality.

The Power Save Mode section allows you to set an assistant that will turn on the power saving mode when the battery is discharged to a certain level. At the same time, you can specify how the phone will save energy. Pretty good customization as it flexibly allows you to set your own priorities. When the battery reaches 15 percent, the camera stops working. The phone is designed to ensure that you can call until the last moment. It's nice that at 15 percent the device lasts 1.5-2 hours, you can talk up to 15-20 minutes.

Surprisingly, the fact is that the Galaxy SII lasts longer than the first Galaxy. And this affects not a slightly larger battery, but the technological platform itself, the Exynos processor turned out to be very economical. In terms of technology, this is an extremely sophisticated phone, in which many settings have been applied, with the help of which real energy savings are possible without compromising the user characteristics of the device. I'll hint that by studying the phone in detail and its capabilities, you can save up to 50 percent of the time, which is just great. Other devices do not provide such opportunities in setting even close. And if you also have straight hands, you know how to delve into the insides of the apparatus, then even more. In a word, among the flagships of the latest generation, it is the Samsung Galaxy SII that has one of the longest-lasting batteries.

Below are screenshots from Android's built-in utility that shows uptime and power consumption.

USB, Bluetooth, NFC, connectivity

Bluetooth. Bluetooth version 3.0, also called High Speed. When transferring files to other devices that support this technology, Wi-Fi 802.11 n is used, and the theoretical transfer speed is about 24 Mbps. Checking the transfer of 1 GB of a file showed a maximum speed of about 12 Mbps within three meters between devices.

The model supports various profiles, in particular, Headset, Handsfree, Serial Port, Dial Up Networking, File Transfer, Object Push, Basic Printing, SIM Access, A2DP. Working with headsets does not raise any questions, everything is ordinary.

USB connection. In the menu, you can select one of three possible modes of operation: Media Player, Mass Storage, Samsung Kies. It is easy to use the device as a modem by turning on Wi-Fi Hotspot or activating a similar function for USB.

In USB Mass Storage mode, the device is perfectly picked up without additional drivers, you can copy the necessary data. USB version - 2, data transfer rate - about 25 Mb / s.

When connected to a PC, simultaneous operation of USB and Bluetooth is not allowed, the device requires you to turn off Bluetooth regardless of the current state (whether there is a connection and transmission or not), this is extremely inconvenient. When connected via USB, the device is charged.

The USB on the Go function is supported, which means that using a special adapter, you can connect any flash drives or external hard drives to the microUSB connector, in this case, you will be able to view files in the file manager, copy them, and so on.

The microUSB connector also supports the MHL standard, which means that using a special cable (available from electronics stores) you can connect your phone to a TV (to the HDMI output). In fact, the standard describes the ability to connect via microUSB to HDMI. This solution looks more preferable than a separate miniHDMI-connector on the case.

For GSM networks, EDGE class 12 is provided.

WiFi. 802.11 a/b/g/n is supported, the wizard is similar to that of Bluetooth. You can remember the selected networks, automatically connect to them. It is possible to set up a connection to the router with one touch, for this you need to press a key on the router, and also activate a similar button in the device menu (WPA SecureEasySetup).

WiFi Direct. A new protocol that aims to replace or compete with Bluetooth version 3 (which also uses Wi-Fi version n to transfer large files). In the Wi-Fi settings menu, select the Wi-Fi Direct section, the phone starts searching for devices around. Select the desired device, activate the connection on it, and voila. Now in the file manager you can view files on another device, as well as transfer them. Another option is to simply find the devices connected to your router and transfer the necessary files to them, this can be done from the gallery or other sections of the phone. The main thing is that the device supports Wi-Fi Direct.

NFC (Near Field Communication). The phone has built-in NFC technology, with its help in some countries they create payment systems when you can pay for the purchase with your phone in a parking lot or at a kiosk. Such systems will continue to evolve, and Samsung has built these features into the device to be the most advanced. For some countries, this option will not be available in the menu (Russia is one of them, at the same time NFC is physically present).

Kies via WiFi. Motorola was the first company to offer a phone without the need to download any software to the computer. You connected to a PC using Wi-Fi, in the browser you could view individual sections of the phone. Samsung went a little further and gave access to all sections of the phone. Enter in the browser the address that the phone provides you, and you can work with all your data, download them to your PC. Convenient and simple. No special programs, you can write SMS from your computer, read them and so on.

Traffic control

Individual functions can be controlled using movements. In most cases, these movements are contrived. For example, in the gallery, you can touch the picture with two fingers and, by tilting the device, zoom in or out on the image. It is not always possible to adjust the speed of changing the picture, it is easier to zoom it with your hands. The only convenient feature was unlocking, touch the screen and shake the phone, the lock is removed. There are good tutorials in the menu showing how to work with movements, but to save energy it is better to turn them off.

Memory, memory cards

The phone has 16 GB of internal memory (a version with 32 GB is planned), initially about 14 GB is available to the user. The memory card is visible separately, it is possible to display all folders (both from the memory card and internal). There is a file manager that allows you to copy files both from the card and to it. Memory cards are not hot swappable. We've tested microSD cards up to 32GB and they work.

The amount of RAM is 1 GB, after downloading about 800 MB is free. This is enough for all applications, the phone is one of the best on the market in terms of RAM.

Performance

This is the first dual-core phone from Samsung, and the Orion processor is used inside, which was recently renamed Exynos 4210. Compared to the prototypes, the processor has been changed - it is also dual-core, but the maximum frequency is 1.2 GHz.

Is this solution comparable to NVIDIA Tegra2, which I was able to test in Motorola ATRIX 4G, as well as LG Optimus 2x. Both devices were my main phones for several weeks. I can evaluate the performance only from the user's point of view, since there are simply no programs that use all the possibilities of such an architecture today. Samsung's solution is no less fast than Motorola's or LG's phones. They are perceived on the same level. My impression is extremely positive, this is one of the fastest phones on the market. In a number of situations, the Samsung phone even looks faster, it seems that a lot of work has been done on its optimization.

So, here are the results in the Quadrant synthetic test, the regular Galaxy SII firmware scores about 3000 points, while the competitors lag behind by a significant margin. I want to emphasize that these measurements are speculative, they do not affect the actual performance of the device, which depends not only on the processor, but also on the memory, as well as on how the programs are optimized and how stable they are in operation.

In Smartbench2011 (optimized for dual-core processors), the results are just as impressive. At the time of testing, this is the only product that showed the maximum result, as you can see for yourself in the screenshot. Below are the results of the overclocked LG Optimus 2x, but this is not a very fair comparison, since you can increase the frequency on Oxynos to much higher rates (1.8 GHz, to be exact). In the absence of commercial samples of the HTC Sensation, comparing the performance of the two devices is not fair, while the Sensation loses in performance in tests. In the Sensation review, we will compare processors and system performance with the Galaxy SII.

Camera

The model received a new 8-megapixel camera module from Samsung, which is one of the best on the market. However, let's compare it with that of the Sony Ericsson Arc.

Sony has created an EXMOR matrix, which is used in the company's flagship - Sony Ericsson Arc. Countless advertising, marketing materials show the superiority of this matrix in low light conditions, and marketing has hammered into people's heads that this is the ideal solution. Or close to it. Unfortunately, Sony is not the leader in photo solutions for phones; moreover, the company's products are secondary to what Samsung does. This can be seen in simple examples of comparative images.

So, we look at the photo of chrysanthemums without any lighting. The pictures look the same. Here and below, images from the Galaxy SII are located on the left.

Let's take the pencils on the table by the window. Side light, lighting is clearly not enough. Both cameras coped with the work in about the same way, I would not single out the leader.

The laughing Buddha in my office turned out great on the Galaxy, but for some reason Arc raised the ISO to 400 (250 on the Galaxy), and at the same time darkened the picture. It also wasn't very sharp.

The situation with the flash is even worse for Arc, the device just shoots as it should. See for yourself. I tried to take pictures several times, but all the time I got this result.

But in this picture (a rare case!) You can even say that Arc shot a little better. Little bit.

In daylight, bright lighting, the cameras have parity, although not all scenes of the Arc work well. But let me remind you that these are almost ideal conditions, and all cameras work well in them.

Well, a couple more pictures:

I hope this little comparison has shown that Sony's EXMOR is pure marketing, nothing more. A regular, untitled Samsung camera puts EXMOR on both shoulders and delivers the best picture quality in all conditions. I think this is enough to stop once and for all the discussion of Sony Ericsson's marketing bullshit about the excellent quality of the cameras (and yes, the iPhone will use a solution from Sony, which will not be available in SE phones due to the high cost).

There is a small but major change to the camera interface in the Galaxy SII. Now the interface can be both horizontal and vertical, it all depends on how you hold the device.

All settings are shown on a translucent background, which is also pleasing. I will briefly list the main settings.

Zoom digital, 4x, you just need to swipe the screen with two fingers to activate it. Very convenient implementation (pinch to zoom). You can judge the quality of the zoom from the following photos, it is not impressive.

Flash mode - automatic, always on, off.

Shooting mode - Single shot (default), Beauty (filter that hides skin imperfections), Smile Shot (search for and response to a smile), Panorama, Action Shot (pictures of moving people or objects), Cartoon (filter that turns a picture into something like a sketch).

Scene Mode - Portrait, Landscape, Night, Sports, Party/Indoor, Beach/Snow, Sunset, Dawn, Fall color, Firework, Text, Candelight, Backlight.

Shutter speed is adjustable from -2 to +2.

Focusing - autofocus, face, macro.

Timer for 2, 5 and 10 seconds.

Effects - negative, black and white, sepia.

Resolution - 8M (3264x2448), 6.5W (3264x1968), 7M (3072x2304), 5.7W (3072x1856) and lower resolutions.

White balance - day, cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent.

ISO - auto, 100, 200, 400, 800.

Also worth noting is metering by point or matrix, automatic contrast, image stabilizer, the ability to set a GPS tag.

Sample photos can be found below:

Video. 1920x1080 pixels (1080p) have been added to the already used resolution of 1280x720. At the same time, the file properties indicate up to 30 frames per second, but the picture looks a little twitchy if you are walking or driving. Constant autofocus is supported, while in difficult conditions the camera cannot always quickly focus on the subject or subject (example with cocktails). But in general, the quality of shooting is quite at the level of other solutions and even better. See for yourself.

Screen type: IPS (In Plane Switching) is a high-quality liquid crystal matrix that was created to eliminate the main disadvantages of matrices based on TN technology. IPS-matrix in the entire spectrum most adequately reproduces colors at different angles of view, with the exception of some positions of colors. TN-matrix has, as it were, a better response than IPS, but not always. So, when transitioning from gray to gray, the IPS matrix behaves better. This matrix is ​​also resistant to pressure. Touching the TN- or VA-matrix results in "thumping" or a certain reaction on the screen. An IPS matrix does not have a similar effect. In addition, ophthalmologists confirm that the IPS matrix is ​​the most comfortable for the eyes. So *Ё *m*ow way, the IPS-matrix brings a bright and clear picture regardless of the angle of view, the best for working on the Internet, watching movies. But most importantly - for image processing and viewing photos. LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) - Liquid crystal displays. The very first displays used in mobile devices, and not only in phones. Their main feature is that they have very low power consumption, due to the inability to display a color image. They do not emit light and therefore phones are upgraded with backlight lamps. Some phones had several different backlight colors based on the presence of different LEDs around the perimeter of the display. This extraordinary solution was used, for example, in the Ericsson A3618 phone. Pixels are clearly visible on this type of display, and such displays cannot boast of high resolution. In order to prolong the life of such displays, they were made inverted, i.e. text and symbols were displayed not as filled pixels, but, on the contrary, inactive against the background of filled ones. Thus, the light text on a dark background turned out. Currently, this type of display is used in the cheapest budget models (Nokia 1112) and as an external display in some flip phones (Samsung D830).

TFT (Thin Film Transistor) - Liquid crystal displays based on active matrix thin film transistors. For each pixel there are three transistors corresponding to three colors (RGB - red, green, blue). At the moment, these are the most common displays that have a number of advantages over other displays. They are characterized by a minimum response time and rapid development - ever-increasing resolution and number of colors. These displays are most common in mid-range phones and above. Working resolutions for them: 128x160, 132x176, 176x208, 176x220, 240x320 and others less common. Examples: Nokia N73 (240x320, 262k colors), Sony Ericsson K750i (176x220, 262k colors), Samsung D900 (240x320, 262k colors). TFTs are very rarely used as external clamshell displays.

CSTN (Color Super Twisted Nematic) - Color liquid crystal displays with a passive matrix. Each pixel of such a display consists of three combined pixels, which correspond to three colors (RGB). Some time ago, almost all phones with color displays were based on this type. And now the lot of such displays is budget models. The main disadvantage of such displays is their slowness. The undoubted advantage of such displays is their cost, which is much lower than TFT. Based on simple logic, we can assume that in the future TFT will displace this type of display from the mobile device market. The evolution of the color of such displays is quite extensive: from 16 to 65536 colors. Examples: Motorola V177 (128x160, 65k colors), Sony Ericsson J100i (96x64, 65k colors), Nokia 2310 (96x68, 65k colors).

UFB (Ultra Fine and Bright) - Liquid crystal displays with increased brightness and contrast on a passive matrix. We can say that this is an intermediate option between CSTN and TFT. This type of display boasts lower power consumption compared to TFT. For the most part, such displays were used by Samsung in mid-range phones. This type of display is not widely used. Examples: Samsung C100/110 (128x128, 65k colors).

TN is one type of TFT screen matrix. Roughly speaking, TN are the simplest and cheapest TFT matrices. The viewing angles are the narrowest.

The South Korean company in January introduced an updated version of the ex-flagship smartphone - Samsung Galaxy S II Plus. The novelty received a new chipset with Broadcomm GPU, as well as some other features and improvements. So let's try to focus on what's good about the device and what kind of performance the Galaxy S II Plus can provide.

The Samsung Galaxy S II Plus retains the same dimensions as the original, including a slim profile of 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.5 mm. The c version is slightly thicker, but it is only 8.9 mm. But the weight has slightly increased and now it is 121 grams instead of 116 grams for the classic Samsung I9100.

You will get an interesting smartphone that combines the design of the Galaxy S II and the finish of the Galaxy S III. The result of this mixing is surprisingly good.

Almost the entire front surface of the device is occupied by a display, above which there is a speaker, proximity and light sensors, a front camera and a company logo, below it are control buttons. On one side there is a power / lock button, and on the other - a volume control key and an eyelet for the cord. There is a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top, and a microUSB port on the bottom.

On the back side you can see the camera with LED flash, slots for the speaker and the company logo.

Note that the assembly of the smartphone is done quite well: there are no squeaks during operation and no backlash.

Performance and software

The Samsung Galaxy S II Plus is based on a 1.2 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor with Broadcomm Videocore IV GPU graphics (the original smartphone used Mali-400MP), 1 GB of RAM. The novelty comes with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean operating system out of the box.

Benchmark Pi showed good results, bypassing the old version of the gadget.

Oddly enough, the Linpack multi-core test showed a very poor result, much worse than the original Galaxy S II smartphone. But this seems to be due to the fact that this benchmark has problems with devices running Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean.

In the Quadrant test, the tested gadget easily outperforms its predecessor, second only to 4-core devices.

GLBenchmark showed that the Broadcomm VideoCore IV HW GPU couldn't beat the Mali-400MP graphics, but came very close.

Finally, the SunSpider and Browsermark 2 tests showed different results. And we expect that after the transition of the Galaxy S II to Android 4.1 Jell Bean, it will be able to catch up with the Galaxy S II Plus in these indicators.

Note that the device has 8 GB of internal memory, which can be expanded with microSD cards (max. 64 GB).

The smartphone supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, NFC (optional), 3G networks, GPS/A-GPS and FM radio.

The device has pre-installed software: browser, email client. Programs for integration with social networks, audio and video players and other applications and games.

Screen

The resolution of the matrix is ​​​​800x480 pixels, which gives a density of 217 ppi, this is by no means so bad and there is something to see. Of course, the resolution of 1080x720 pixels on the screens of modern flagships shows the picture much better and clearer. But overall, the display is good, though nowhere near as impressive as it was when the Galaxy S II first hit stores. The Samsung Galaxy S II Plus uses a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus capacitive display protected by special Gorilla Glass, the same as the original smartphone. This means you can count on excellent viewing angles, superb contrast ratios and great brightness levels.

Camera

Samsung Galaxy S II Plus is equipped with an 8-megapixel camera with LED flash and autofocus. It allows you to take photos with a maximum resolution of 3264x2448 pixels and record video with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels at 30 frames per second.

The camera software has many functions: touch focus, smiles, continuous shooting, panorama shooting, can take a photo while shooting video. Only missing.

The image is of good quality. Despite the adverse weather conditions, the Galaxy S II Plus managed to take a photo with little noise, the colors are rendered naturally.

Also, the smartphone is equipped with a 2-megapixel front camera for video calling.

Battery

The gadget received a lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 1650 mAh, which, in our opinion, is very small for a device with a 4.3-inch display. So, one battery charge is enough for 5.5 hours of browsing the Internet or 4 hours of watching videos.

Price

The price of Samsung Galaxy S II Plus in the Russian market is 19,990 rubles.

Note that we expected more significant updates, since the screen was not improved at all.

Samsung Galaxy S II Plus video review:

What did not like

The T9 has less vocabulary than the Nokia E51, and the full keyboard without a stylus has too small buttons.

What did you like

Everything you need is there: enough memory, GPS, fast.

What did not like

What did you like

Brought on time. good store.

What did not like

My memory is not 16 GB. Horror, it shows the state of the phone's memory of only 136kb, how this can be I have no idea. And I still can’t download anything from a flash card to my phone. The battery drains quickly. The Internet does not work well, it feels like it's not 3g.

What did you like

Of the advantages, I will single out only the format and style, a large screen.

What did not like

The case is plasticine, it's all falling apart and it's crunching, it's been half a year and the screen is already cracked, the back cover is all peeled off, the case is broken and crunches. Constantly periodically freezes tightly at critical moments (calls and pictures from the camera). it gets very hot and is instantly discharged even if you turn on wi-fi and just leave half the charge for the night

What did you like

design, screen, camera, androyd 4.1.2, covers and films in huge quantities

What did not like

heats up fast and hot
The board burned out after 2 months of use. blogo guarantee saved. (the fee to change costs in the Samsung office is approx 4000-6000 rubles.)
from here to slow down the operating system (andryushka 2.3)
already weak 1 year of use (purchased in January 2012.)
The plastic body is crap.

What did you like

compact screen gorila glass - exc. year of use - not a scratch a lot of functionality

What did not like

According to my wife, there is no way to set your signal to SMS. In my opinion, the 8MP camera could be better.

What did not like

after the last firmware - complete nonsense in work, nothing helps, glitches are continuous and along the way this is the end of the model, by the way the SD sees but .... nothing is written there even from under Case 2.0, the network drops constantly, rollbacks to the factory settings did not help

What did you like

were 2 years ago - now - it's just a complete chagrin, and that's how it all started, well, when you need to say - the end of the model, the last firmware finished it off

What did not like

slippery, it discharges quickly like an iPhone, but the iPhone charges faster, while FSE.

What did you like

can be used as a hard drive, fse!

What did not like

Disgusting wasp, buggy not much less than Windows Mobile 6.5, the battery is worthless, it constantly charged, the connection falls off, the back cover on the white model cracked, after the update, the phone’s memory stopped opening.

What did you like

Good camera, good screen, otg.

What did not like

Charging (with frequent use, enough for 1 day even less)
- Heating after 1 minute of use cools down for a very long time
-Bluetooth turns on if you shake the phone, and as some people know that it eats a lot of charging even with such a bad battery, well, let's say when I was studying in London, I very often traveled around the city to the Internet (I didn't know about it then) bam car over a bump shocked bluetooth turned on (but because I didn’t know I didn’t pay attention to the fact that the function was on) after that the bluetooth ate the charge, and the battery instantly sat down, although I had to study for half a day, and the phone had already let me down!
-With full sound (without a cover that covers the speaker), you can not hear the calls!
-Play market is very stupid, although I bought it in a very good store!

What did you like

Memory -Camera -Design -Good screen

What did not like

Oh, there are a lot of them!!
1. Loses connection even if it shows that it is excellent, and if there is an important call, then what? Write lost?
2. When you listen to music, you can’t leave it, it turns off, you don’t like it
3. A friend gave me a video, but it didn’t work, I tried it via USB, it doesn’t work either, I didn’t find it everywhere
4. A bunch of unnecessary applications, why are they?
5. There were no headphones in the kit, this is of course not a problem, but there were headphones from my old Samsung so they don’t work on this phone, they said in the cabin that it was something with the headphones, and not with the phone, but on other phones and my player they worked well
6. A bunch of folders that are not needed, they gave me pictures, I barely found it)

What did you like

Except that the big screen is no longer noticed

What did not like

Unreasonably high price, worse parameters than competitors for the same price.
I myself have an HTC Evo 3D, two colleagues have a Galaxy S II. On this occasion, a small comparison.

The success of the Galaxy S line is no longer in doubt. This is the only line of smartphones that not only became famous and popular, but was able to surpass the famous iPhone, which was considered the standard for almost a decade, in many ways. The success story of this series began with the first model released to the mass market, but it was the second version of the gadget that left a special mark on the memory of users. Samsung Galaxy S2 i9100, whose characteristics at the time of release were simply discouraging. None of the competitors could even come close to him in terms of the power of the “stuffing”. Those technologies that were involved in this device were not available to other manufacturers, so the Koreans, without wasting time, took advantage of their trump card and decided to bring to the market all the best that they had, thereby intercepting the banner of superiority from Sony and HTC. Since then, it was Samsung that became trendsetters and the main engine of progress in the difficult conditions of the struggle for the smartphone market. In this article, let's talk about one of the most prominent representatives of this industry - Samsung Galaxy S2. Is he really that good?

Equipment

So, what does the buyer get by purchasing this gadget:

• Samsung Galaxy S2 i9100 phone;
• lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 1650 mAh;
• simple wired stereo headset;
• cable for recharging and synchronizing data with a computer;
• charger for mains power.

Specifications

For ease of understanding, the information is presented in the form of a table.

	4.3 inches, resolution 840 x 400 pixels, Super AMOLED + matrix
CPU	ARM Cortex A-9, Exynos 4210 dual-core chip up to 1200 MHz
	Embedded in the Mali 400 chip
RAM
Persistent memory	8 or 16 GB depending on configuration + memory card up to 32 GB
Battery	1650 mAh lithium-ion battery
	8 megapixel rear, 2 megapixel front
Operating system Samsung Galaxy S2 i9100	Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)

Case design and materials

Dimensions: 125x66x8.5 mm.

Weight: 116 grams.

The main design decisions migrated to the Galaxy S2 from the first generation of smartphones. The same plastic as the main material, the same hump on the back panel, except that the phone has become a little wider in comparison with the previous model, which caused a lot of negativity on the Internet. An important difference was the thickness of the device. From a value of 11 millimeters, the thickness of the case has dropped to 8.5, which is impressive. The back cover has a corrugated surface, a kind of imitation of leather on plastic. Visually, this solution looks, to put it mildly, vulgar, but in practice it works out perfectly. Such a surface does not allow the phone to slide, thanks to it there are almost no small scratches on it, and even more so fingerprints. Strongly scratched and wiped only the hump in the lower part of the case. In the hand, the phone lies well, easily fits into a trouser or shirt pocket. The front panel of the device is boring, as, in fact, it always was before the advent of the Edge model. As for the build quality, everything here is average. Squeaks and a slight backlash are noticeable, the case is far from being monolithic and this greatly spoils the impression.

Controls and Ports

Almost the entire front panel of the gadget is occupied by the display. Above it huddle the front camera, proximity sensor and earpiece. The main control keys are located under the display: a touch button for calling the list of running applications, a physical Home button, and another touch button for returning one level back. The headphone port (standard 3.5 mm jack) is hidden on the top end. At the bottom is a charging port. On the right side there is a button to turn on and lock the gadget, and on the left side there is a volume rocker. Slots for sim card and memory card are hidden under the cover.

Communications

The smartphone is equipped with a standard set of communication tools:

• USB 2.0 can be used in a variety of modes including Mass Storage (accessing memory from a computer);
• Wi-Fi operating at 802.11 b/n/g. Supporting Wi-Fi Direct fast data exchange technology (a tool that can replace the new generation of Bluetooth);
• NFC - technology for data exchange and interaction with contactless payment systems;
• Kies is a tool developed by Samsung that allows you to control data on your phone from a computer without connecting the phone itself with wires;
• Bluetooth 3.0 is also supported.

Display

At the time of the release of the gadget, the display installed in it was one of the best on the market, although it could not please with high resolution. The display has a diagonal of 4.3 inches and a resolution of 840x400 pixels. At this ratio, the amount of PPI is disappointing, but this is purely a technical resolution. In general, the screen is much better, the picture is quite bright, sharp, the colors are oversaturated and catchy. The colors are unrealistic, but pleasing to the human eye. The screen consumes much less energy (energy consumption depends entirely on what colors are shown on the display, black consumes the least energy). In the new generation of screens, the ill-fated PenTile (pixel arrangement technology) disappeared, and Real-Stripe came in its place, smoothing the picture. All this was made possible thanks to the SuperAMOLED + technology, which became the signature feature of the Samsung Galaxy S2 i9100. The glass above the display is tempered, manufactured by Gorilla Glass. There is an anti-reflective coating, but it is of little use. The image fades in the sun. Also, this device uses VibeZ technology (this is a tactile feedback when you touch the display).

Processor and graphics

The heart of the smartphone is the single-chip ARM Cortex A9 processor based on the Exynos 4210 chip (formerly Orion). The processor is equipped with two cores, the clock frequency of each reaches 1200 MHz. The integrated video subsystem Mali 400 is responsible for graphics performance. The hardware platform is quite powerful, looks extremely promising, but, unfortunately, Samsung fans fill their phones with a bunch of pre-installed and unnecessary software, and also develop their own version of the bootloader, called TouchWiz. All this negates hardware computing power. The phone slows down. Slows down in the menu, in applications, when scrolling through long lists. There is an excessive load on the processor, significantly heating it. Despite the above problems, the smartphone still pulls most of the games, although not at the highest settings. In the synthetic Quadrant test, the smartphone scored 3121 points, outperforming all competitors of its contemporaries.

Memory

Complements the processor 1 GB of RAM (800 MB available to the user). In theory, on paper this is a record, but in practice it is a failure. Even this amount of memory is not enough to cope with Samsung firmware. TouchWiz spares not a single megabyte, and multitasking suffers greatly from this. You can fix the situation by flashing the gadget and installing “clean” Android on it, without terrible Korean add-ons.

The main memory in the device is either 8 or 16 GB, depending on the selected configuration. In both cases, this volume can be expanded by installing a memory card. Cards up to 32 GB are supported.

autonomy

The battery for Samsung Galaxy S2 i9100 has a capacity of 1650 mAh. An impressive figure for 2011. The manufacturer claims that the smartphone is able to live about 6.5 hours of talk time and 350 in standby mode. Independent tests have shown that the gadget:

• lives about 12 hours in reading mode (e-book);
• in audio playback mode for about 19 hours;
• when watching a video at minimum brightness for about 5 hours.

The results are good, but not the best. For greater battery savings, you can use the built-in Power Save Mode utility. This is a kind of adviser that will allow you to configure the phone in such a way that the operating time from a single charge increases, but this is not a panacea.

cameras

Something, but Samsung cameras can do it, especially in mobile gadgets. Koreans, as they were leaders in the industry 5 years ago, have remained so. The smartphone is equipped with a main camera with a resolution of 8 megapixels and a front camera of 2 megapixels. Photos taken with the main camera are sharp, bright, saturated, without unnecessary overflows, artifacts and excessive noise. Even in poor lighting conditions, the smartphone produces a very decent picture. Other smartphones are not capable of this. Of the features of the camera, it is worth highlighting software chips, for example, filters that correct skin defects, panorama mode, searching for a smile and activating the shutter when one enters the frame, as well as selecting different scenes (something like pre-configured parameters for different landscapes and light levels) . The front camera will please both those who simply communicate with it on Skype, and those who like to take “selfies”. The resolution, detail and viewing angle is far greater than many smartphones even today.